Scottish Executive

Cancer

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent specifically on research into mesothelioma in each of the last five years, expressed also as a percentage of the total amount spent on cancer research in each year.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) of the Scottish Executive Health Department has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health services and patient care with the NHS in Scotland. The CSO portfolio includes more than 57 cancer-related projects. Although none of these deals specifically with mesothelioma, many of the findings will be relevant to all tumour types.

  The CSO also funds the indirect costs of cancer research. In 2001-02, approximately £7.7 million of the Research and Development Support Fund allocated to the NHS in Scotland for research was used in support of cancer studies – again with findings potentially relevant to all tumour types. The CSO always welcomes quality applications for consideration through their peer review and committee processes.

Cancer

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any specialist treatment units for mesothelioma and, if so, where they are located; how long any such units have been in operation, and what additional funding any such unit has received in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-28521 on 13 September 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

  Treatment for mesothelioma, and indeed for all cancers, is highly specialised and is delivered across multi-disciplinary networks involving clinical and medical oncologists based in Scotland’s five cancer centres.

Cancer

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why NHS patients diagnosed with mesothelioma are being referred to Glenfield Hospital in Leicester for treatment; whether any sufferers are being referred to, and treated at, other hospitals outside Scotland; how long this practice has been established, and how many patients have been referred to each hospital concerned in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information about referrals to named hospitals outside Scotland is not held centrally.

  Information is available of the total numbers of people referred for treatment to hospitals in England:

  Referrals to Hospitals in England for all Malignancies Excluding Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer

  


1997 
  

45 
  



1998 
  

58 
  



  Source: Scottish Cancer Registration database, ISD, Scotland, September 2002. 1998 is the last year for which cancer registration figures are available.

  Note: There were no referrals for treatment of mesothelioma in either of these two years.

  The treatment of patients with mesothelioma is a matter for specialists experienced in the management of cancer. For rare cancers such as mesothelioma, treatment may be arranged on a UK rather than national (Scottish) basis. Clinicians are responsible for making appropriate decisions on treatment in individual cases, in consultation with their patient.

Civil Servants

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27995 by Mr Jack McConnell on 2 September 2002, whether ministerial parliamentary aides deal directly with civil servants by (a) attending meetings with them, (b) communicating with them via telephone or any other means, and what the cost has been to date of any such time spent by civil servants with ministerial parliamentary aides.

Mr Jack McConnell: Civil servants’ contact with ministerial parliamentary aides is limited to occasions when the aide is supporting a minister in the minister’s official capacity. This can be contact at meetings or by telephone or e-mail. No central record is kept of the amount of time or occasions where contact has been made.

Civil Servants

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-28012 by Mr Andy Kerr on 30 August 2002, what the exception in relation to senior civil servants was and why the exception was made.

Mr Andy Kerr: : The exception was to second a person into the then Scottish Office for more than 12 months without first establishing a field of candidates. It was made to secure particular expertise quickly in the area of housing.

Common Services Agency

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency has any plans to compile key health indicators, both nationally and broken down by NHS board area, using the same criteria as for the information on health compiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency do not currently have plans to compile key health indicators, using the same criteria as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Conservation

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what payments and other assistance it gives to people living in conservation areas to meet the cost of major repairs and window replacements and whether these payments offer any special assistance to householders on below average incomes.

Dr Elaine Murray: Historic Scotland, an agency within the Scottish Executive, can provide grants for the repair of properties within conservation areas that have been classified as outstanding for the purposes of grant. This provision includes grants for the repair, renewal or re-instatement of traditional timber sash and case windows, normally as part of a comprehensive scheme of repair. All applications are assessed on the basis of a need for grant and rates of grant vary according to personal circumstances. Local authorities have similar powers to award repair grants and can also set up joint-funded Town Schemes with Historic Scotland to assist owners with grants of 50% (25% each from the local authority and Historic Scotland). Town Schemes can address discrete items of repair such as windows.

Conservation

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will issue guidelines to double glazing companies regarding the appropriate types of windows to install in conservation areas in order to prevent householders that have not complied with relevant regulations becoming subject to enforcement action and the subsequent additional cost of replacing the windows.

Dr Elaine Murray: Government advice on window replacement is given in the Memorandum of Guidance on Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas . The latest edition of the memorandum was published by Historic Scotland in 1998 and is the document to which all planning authorities are directed by Scottish Office Development Department Circular No.13/1998 in their consideration of conservation and listed building consent matters.

  Although principally aimed at planning authority staff, the guidelines about windows set out within it are of use also to applicants and their agents, and to manufacturers of replacement windows. The first point of enquiry about replacement windows should always be the local planning authority, which will offer advice on the basis of both local plan policies and Government guidance within the memorandum.

Dental Care

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to improve the current provision of free dental care and increase the number of NHS dentists throughout Scotland as a result of the Spending Review 2002.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The Spending Review 2002 will enable us to continue to implement recommendations contained in An Action Plan for Dental Services in Scotland . These include improving access to NHS dental services and measures to recruit and retain NHS dentists in Scotland.

Farmers

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what safeguards are in place to protect farmers who are in a quality assurance scheme from any impact on their certification of the actions of persons that walk across their land with dogs that have not been adequately treated against diseases.

Ross Finnie: : On-farm quality assurance schemes are industry-led and the Scottish Executive has no direct control over standards and certification procedures. There are no specific provisions to protect farmers who are in quality assurance schemes which would wholly protect them against animal contamination, wild or domestic. However, the Scottish Executive has recently produced a Bio-Security Code of Practice – currently before the Scottish Parliament – which includes guidance to walkers when using farm land to reduce any risk of disease transmission.

Health

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether information is held centrally on the number of patients treated in nurse-led out-patient clinics (a) in each NHS board area and (b) across Scotland as a whole in each of the last five years and what the reasons are for the position on the matter.

Malcolm Chisholm: Earlier this year, ISD Scotland, in collaboration with Audit Scotland, carried out a week-long audit of non-in-patient clinics held in Scotland. Preliminary results from parts of the survey on nurse-led clinics are available at:

  http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/isd_services/NHSiS_services/Data_quality/nurse_led_clinics.doc.

  Systematic information on the number of patients treated in nurse-led out-patient clinics is not available centrally. However, this survey is part of the work being undertaken to identify the potential advantages of collecting information about out-patient contacts other than those by consultants.

Higher Education

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the policy and financial management review of the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) will be completed.

Iain Gray: As stated in the answer given to question S1W-28671 on 29 August 2002, the report published on that date marked the completion of the Quinquennial Review of SHEFC. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any research findings are available to link increased smoking of tobacco with drugs prescribed for people with mental health problems.

Malcolm Chisholm: Research funded by the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) in the Scottish Executive Health Department has confirmed the high rates of smoking among people with severe mental illness. These are a matter of concern, as they would be in any population group. The CSO is aware of research that suggests an interaction between antipsychotic medication and rates of smoking, but has not funded any research in this area.

Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients have been detained under section 18 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984 in each year since 1990, broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not held centrally. The following figures have been produced from data provided by the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland. They indicate the number of admissions to hospital under section 18 in each year and do not necessarily reflect the total number of patients being treated under section 18 in any one year.

  

 

Year 
  



Board 
  

1990-91 
  

1991-92 
  

1992-93 
  

1993-94 
  

1994-95 
  

1995-96 
  



Argyll and Clyde NHS Unified Board 
  

61 
  

73 
  

63 
  

87 
  

97 
  

110 
  



Ayrshire and Arran Unified Board 
  

22 
  

33 
  

34 
  

42 
  

42 
  

42 
  



Borders Unified Board 
  

9 
  

10 
  

* 
  

16 
  

17 
  

15 
  



Fife NHS Board 
  

18 
  

35 
  

49 
  

49 
  

45 
  

58 
  



Forth Valley NHS Board 
  

20 
  

21 
  

19 
  

30 
  

31 
  

33 
  



Grampian NHS Board 
  

61 
  

57 
  

72 
  

80 
  

81 
  

87 
  



Greater Glasgow NHS Board 
  

115 
  

151 
  

126 
  

158 
  

161 
  

163 
  



Highland NHS Board 
  

29 
  

40 
  

41 
  

46 
  

32 
  

32 
  



Lothian NHS Unified Board 
  

78 
  

104 
  

118 
  

131 
  

130 
  

160 
  



NHS Dumfries and Galloway 
  

31 
  

26 
  

28 
  

31 
  

32 
  

28 
  



NHS Lanarkshire Board 
  

30 
  

35 
  

43 
  

61 
  

67 
  

58 
  



NHS Tayside Unified Board 
  

61 
  

68 
  

84 
  

59 
  

97 
  

94 
  



Other 
  

10 
  

6 
  

* 
  

15 
  

8 
  

6 
  



Total 
  

545 
  

659 
  

693 
  

805 
  

840 
  

886 
  



  

 

Year 
  



Board 
  

1996-97 
  

1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02 
  



Argyll and Clyde NHS Unified Board 
  

112 
  

113 
  

116 
  

82 
  

108 
  

88 
  



Ayrshire and Arran Unified Board 
  

41 
  

57 
  

59 
  

71 
  

86 
  

75 
  



Borders Unified Board 
  

22 
  

19 
  

* 
  

* 
  

26 
  

* 
  



Fife NHS Board 
  

75 
  

72 
  

89 
  

68 
  

53 
  

87 
  



Forth Valley NHS Board 
  

31 
  

32 
  

36 
  

32 
  

41 
  

42 
  



Grampian NHS Board 
  

76 
  

95 
  

86 
  

89 
  

108 
  

97 
  



Greater Glasgow NHS Board 
  

170 
  

164 
  

186 
  

185 
  

204 
  

222 
  



Highland NHS Board 
  

48 
  

55 
  

45 
  

52 
  

43 
  

45 
  



Lothian NHS Unified Board 
  

156 
  

158 
  

180 
  

186 
  

191 
  

201 
  



NHS Dumfries and Galloway 
  

25 
  

41 
  

41 
  

31 
  

40 
  

40 
  



NHS Lanarkshire Board 
  

48 
  

64 
  

65 
  

62 
  

71 
  

86 
  



NHS Tayside Unified Board 
  

78 
  

93 
  

118 
  

116 
  

100 
  

113 
  



Other 
  

9 
  

7 
  

* 
  

* 
  

6 
  

* 
  



Total 
  

891 
  

970 
  

1049 
  

1005 
  

1077 
  

1132 
  



  Figures marked * are not available to prevent disclosure of personal information.

  Years are from 1 April to 31 March.

  Other includes section 18 detentions in the State Hospital, Shetland NHS Board and unspecified cases.

  A very small proportion of patients may have had more than one episode of detention in each year.

  These figures have been derived from the Mental Welfare Commission’s patient record’s system. Statistics for years up until 1996 derive from older patient information systems where data have been transferred. In addition, there may be slight variations between these figures and those previously published by the commission as they have been derived from an active system.

Non-Departmental Public Bodies

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all public appointments made to non-departmental public bodies in each of the last three years, showing the number of re-appointments separately; which of these vacancies were advertised, and where, and when any such advertisements appeared.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on those public appointments made in the last three years is given in the Executive’s annual reports on appointments to non-departmental public bodies. A copy of the reports for 1999, 2000 and 2001 has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 3935, 11607 and 19471). The Executive’s Public Appointments website ( www.scotland.gov.uk/government/publicbodies ) also provides up to date details of all current appointments. Information on re-appointments and use of advertisements is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Public Appointments

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27777 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 August 2002, when the consolidated guidance on public appointment arrangements will be published.

Mr Andy Kerr: Revised consolidated guidance for officials who work closely with non-departmental public bodies is currently being finalised. The guidance will include a section on public appointment procedures that will complement the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice. The Executive guidance is expected to be made available within the next month to officials within the Executive, and I will place a copy in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Public Appointments

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-27777 by Mr Andy Kerr on 29 August 2002, whether it will list the members of each public appointment sponsor team, and the bodies they were members of, that failed to comply with the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice in several respects when making a number of appointments to an advisory non-departmental public body.

Mr Andy Kerr: No. I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27777: neither the audit reports received by the Executive nor the Commissioner’s Annual Report refer to individuals or specific public bodies.

Public Transport

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of fuel duty is rebated annually.

Lewis Macdonald: Under the Bus Service Operator's Grant scheme, ultra low sulphur diesel (the fuel predominantly used in the operation of local bus services) currently attracts a rebate of 80.1% of the fuel duty paid.

Public Transport

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many bus companies participate in the Fuel Duty Rebate scheme and how much was rebated to bus companies in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02 and (d) 2002-03 to date.

Lewis Macdonald: About 220 local bus operators in Scotland qualify for Bus Service Operator's Grant at any one time, although the exact number varies. The table sets out the total amount rebated to bus operators in Scotland in the years requested.

  


Year 
  

Amount Rebated 
  



1999-2000 
  

£45.2 million 
  



2000-01 
  

£49.3 million 
  



2001-02 
  

£49.5 million 
  



2002-03 to date 
  

c.£16.0 million

Public Transport

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made, or will make, to Her Majesty’s Government about extending the red diesel scheme to buses used in the provision of daily local services.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including fuel duty rates.

Public Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it can take in the event of a strike by bus drivers in Edinburgh.

Lewis Macdonald: It is the responsibility of the relevant local authority to consider what steps should be taken to meet any public transport requirements it considers appropriate and which would not otherwise be met. I understand that City of Edinburgh Council have put in place a range of contingency measures in the event a bus strike, and I welcome this approach. In addition, I understand that the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland has indicated that he will accept emergency local bus registrations if other bus or coach companies wish to run replacement services for the duration of any strike action.

Rail Network

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its remit and role is in respect of the Waverley Station redevelopment project in regard to responsibility for construction, management, funding and giving any necessary instructions.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is a member of the steering group which has been established to ensure a co-ordinated approach to delivering a vision for Waverley. Other members of the group are the Strategic Rail Authority (which chairs the steering group), Railtrack (the owners of Waverley Station) and the City of Edinburgh Council (as the local planning authority). Before any detail design work can begin, considerable investigative and preparatory work is required. The Executive has made up to £1 million available to enable that preparatory work to begin. This work will help inform the final design of the station and determine the necessary funding required to develop it. Until this work is completed, it is too early to determine responsibility for project management, construction and where the necessary funding for the project will be obtained.

Rail Services

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration is given to the efficient running of rail services when awarding the franchise for those services currently operated by ScotRail.

Lewis Macdonald: The current Scottish passenger rail franchise term ends in March 2004. Scottish ministers gave Directions and Guidance (D&G) for the next franchise to the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) on 28 June 2002. The D&G instructed the SRA that the franchise should enable the operator’s performance to be monitored and assessed over time and be capable of termination if performance were consistently deemed to be unacceptable. A copy of the D&G is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 22122).

  Monitoring of performance will be a matter for the SRA, and a report on the operator’s performance will be published in the SRA’s Annual Report.

Schools

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many school classrooms were built before 1900 in each local authority area.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools in each local authority area currently use outside toilet facilities.

Nicol Stephen: The information requested is not held centrally.

Scottish Executive Announcements

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many neighbourhood wardens will be employed before May 2003 under the measures announced in its press release SESJ055/2002.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people from deprived communities will be helped into work before May 2003 under the child care measures announced in its press release SESJ055/2002.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people over the age of 80 will receive assistance with central heating before May 2003 under the measures announced in its press release SESJ055/2002.

Ms Margaret Curran: The measures announced in press release SESJ055/2002 relate to the Executive’s spending plans for 2004-05 onwards, and not to the period before May 2003.

Water Safety

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive why 6,000 residents in Clydebank were misinformed concerning the public health risk from cryptosporidium contaminated drinking water and when it will be able to provide an explanation of why it took four days before these residents were told to boil water.

Ross Finnie: Fuller details of the events during the cryptosporidium incident in Glasgow will become available on the publication of both the report by the relevant Incident Control Team, and the report by the Water Industry Commissioner into communication with Scottish Water’s customers.